Charlotte’s Cycling Community Comes Together Over Cyclist Death

(By Mark Price, The Charlotte Observer)

The chain-reaction accident occurred Sunday morning at Parkwood Avenue and Hawthorne Lane, when a Ford Ranger pickup crashed into a Lexus, then lost control and crashed into Gorman’s bike. Nathaniel Manson Lancaster, 38, the driver of a 1994 Ford Ranger, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

Gorman’s death touched a nerve in Charlotte’s biking community, which held a memorial and vigil in his honor this week. It’s estimated 100 people attended the event and a white “ghost bike” has been placed at the wreck site to remind motorists of his death. Charlotte averages one to four bike-related fatalities each year, though the 140 bike crashes reported last year was the highest since 2002...

Gorman’s death is an example of how dangerous the city’s streets are for people who depend on bikes for transportation, said Jordan Moore, Bicycle Program Director for Sustain Charlotte. Moore was involved in the memorial and vigil for Gorman on Tuesday.

“Losing Al was heartbreaking because it seemed so senseless, in a pinball machine of an accident,” Moore said.